Refrigerator



E. J. WIRFS.

REFRIGERATOR,

APELICATION FILED MAY 15, I916.

1 ,377,451 Patented May 10, 1921.

FQI

-UNITED STATES EDWARD J. WIRES, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR 'IO NATIONAL REFRIGERATORS PATENT OFFICE.

COMPANY, OF ST; LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OFMISSOURI.

REFRIGERATOR.

Application filed May 15, 1916. Serial No. 97,556.

7 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD J. TIRES, a citizen of the .United States of America, a resident of the city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Refrigerators, of which the following is a full, clear,. and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a refrigerator or cold storage room for the preservation of provisions or other articles which are to be kept at a low temperature with the air in a dry condition. The invention has for its objects to provide means for insuring a rapid and continuous circulation of dry-air from the lower portion of the ice compartment, through the cold storage compartment and thence to the upper portion of the ice compartment, and means for preventing the moisture, which accumulates at the upper portion of the refrigerator, from dropping into the cold storage compartment, also preventing such moisture from rotting or otherwise injuring the roof or top wall of the refrigerator. These objects are attained by certain specific combinations of elements which will be hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

The drawing is a perspective view, partly in section, showing the interior of a refrigerator or cold storage room constructed in ac cordance with the invention.

The structure I have shown includes vertical side and end walls designated 1 and 2, respectively, a floor or bottom wall 3, and a roof or top wall 1. Each of these main walls preferably comprises inner and outer wall members and insulating material packed between said members.

A designates a cold storage compartment, {UK B designates an ice compartment above said cold storage compartment. The ice compartment is preferably provided with an open ice rack 5 consisting of a number of slats separated from each other to permit the cold air to flow downwardly from the ice. The ice compartment also has end and side ice fences 7 and 8, and a pair of side baflle walls 9 secured to the side fences. Each baflle wall 9 preferably consists of a number of boards arranged one above the other and closely fitted together to prevent the air from circulating through said battle Patented wall. These bafiie walls 9 are separated from the main side walls 1 to form ducts for the rising warm air currents, and the upper edges of said battle walls are separated from the main top wall 4: to permit the warm air to flow over said upper edges and into the upper portion of the ice compartment. By forming the warm air ducts and baffle walls in this manner, I prevent the cold air from meeting the rising warm air currents thus insuring a free circulation of the warm air.

To prevent the warm air from accumulating in the upper corners of the refrigerator, where it would in time become unsanitary, upwardly inclined air deflectors 12 are arranged over the warm air ducts, said deflectors extending from the main side walls to the ceiling of the ice compartment. The rising warm air currents strike these deflectors and flow freely into the upper portion f the ice compartment.

Moisture will accumulate on the ceiling of the ice compartment, and to prevent such moisture from dripping into the storage compartment A, a corrugated metal ceiling member 13 is arranged between the air deflectors 12 at the top of the ice compartment. The warm air is deflected onto the ceiling member 13 and the moisture, due to condensation at this point, will eventually drop from the ridges of the corrugations to the lower portion of the ice chamber. It may be noted that the ceiling member 13 is located entirely between the planes of the warm air ducts 10, so that the moisture cannot pass to the storage compartment A by dropping through said warm air ducts. Another advantage of this ceiling member is that it protects the main top wall 4: from the moisture, thus avoiding undue decay of the wooden elements of said wall a.

Insulated drip shelves 14 are located below the open ice rack 5, and separated from each other at the middle of the refrigerator to provide a middle down duct 15 through which the cold air flows, as indicated by arrows. longitudinal beams 16 which prevent the circulation from being retarded by the admission of cold air to the duct 10 at points below the ice rack. beams secured to the main side Walls 1, and extending across the refrigerator at points below the drip shelves 14.

The water passing from the ice flows May 10, 1921.

16 designates supporting through the ice rack 5 and drops onto the drip shelves 14, the latter being preferably covered with galvanized sheet metal memhers 17 and also provided with gutters 18 near their inner edges. The drip shelves are inclined downwardly toward the gutters, so the water will flow into the gutters and it may be conducted therefrom in any suitable manner.

To prevent the water from dropping into the down duct 15, below the middle of the ice rack, a water deflector 20 is located below said ice rack at a point above the down duct 15. This deflector is preferably a galvanized sheet metal member having inclined side portions for deflecting water to points directly above the drip shelves 141;. The side edges of the water deflector are turned downwardly, as shown at 20, to prevent the water from flowing backwardly along the bottom face of said deflector. Obviously, the water will drop from these down turned edges 20, instead of creeping backwardly under the influence of capillary attraction. The object of this feature is to prevent the water from flowing backwardiy along the bottom of the deflector to a point where it could drop into the storage compartment A.

Beneath the Water deflector 20 is a V shaped air deflector, the point of which is located centrally oi the down duct 15 through which the cold air flows after passing beneath said water deflector. The sides of this V shaped air deflector being inclined toward said down duct 15 deflect the air toward said down duct as it passes from each side o1 the compartment instead of descending into the storage compartment.

I cla1m:- A refrigerator comprising main walls tormin a cold storage compartment and an ice compartment above said cold storage compartment, said ice compartment being provided with an ice rack and'opposing bafiie walls separated from two of said main walls to provide warm air up ducts at pposite sides of said ice compartments, said bafiie walls being impertorate-to prevent the rising warm air currents from meeting the downwardly moving cold air currents within the ice compartment and the upper edges of said bai'i'le walls being separated from the main top wall to allow the warm air currents to tiow over said upper edges and into the upper portion of said ice compartment, drip shelves located below said ice rack andseparated from each-other to provide a central EDXVARD J. \VIRFS. 

